Like The Seasons, You Are Kind
by OtakuWithHazelEyes
Summary: Ozma, god of Remnant, has been spending a lot of time in his study as of late. His daughters decide to fix that. Brother Gods almighty, what had he ever done to deserve these little lights in his life? (Part 2 of the Ozma and Family Series)


**Originally posted on AO3.**

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Ozma, new god of what had come to be called Remnant, was perturbed.

For the last few weeks an army from a nearby kingdom had been amassing at the border, beating their shields and calling for the so-called gods to show themselves. They threatened war, yet they weren't what perturbed him.

No, what perturbed him was Salem, his wife and queen, choosing to actually go meet with the enemy general. While she was usually content in sending one of their vast armies to deal with any threats, she felt it important to occasionally remind the humans of their magical power. Her going personally always ended in nothing less than a massacre.

The most perturbing thing was Ozma couldn't be sure how he felt about that.

_It's necessary,_ he thought, scratching his quill across a provision request. _Men like General Oberon and his lord will only further divide humanity. This will bring peace in the long run._

It was what Salem told him and what he told himself most days, but it was starting to sound more and more like an excuse. At any rate, until Salem returned there was nothing he could do about it but sit in his study and... well, _brood_ (as she'd once affectionately put it). While one god went to eliminate the kingdom's enemies, the other had to remain a steady presence for their subjects.

_That's right. I need to be here for my people,_ he thought. He put down his quill and massaged his temple._ Just wait until Salem gets back. We can discuss it then._

**Knock, knock.**

Ozma looked up toward his study door. He stood and walked in front of his desk, arms folded behind his back. "You may enter."

The door cracked open, and in peaked the pale-blonde head of his eldest daughter.

"Hello, Father," she greeted respectfully.

"Eirwen," he greeted, relaxing his stance. "Please, come in."

Eirwen entered, a large book clutched to her chest. She shut the door behind her and quickly walked down the long red carpet towards his desk. Once she was in front of him, he knelt down to her level and smiled gently at her.

"Now, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he asked.

Eirwen rocked on her heels for a moment before giving him a bright smile. "I was wondering if I could read in here for a little while? If you don't mind, that is."

Ozma raised an eyebrow at her. "Dear, you know you're not supposed to be in here while I'm working."

"Please? I promise to be very quiet. You can just keep working," she pleaded. For good measure, she widened her round, brown eyes in a sad pout.

_Oh gods above, not the puppy eyes,_ he thought. Salem always had been very good that. Of all things the girls had to inherit from her- the eyes and the instinctual knowledge he was completely powerless against them.

He sighed in defeat and stood. "Very well. If you promise to just read silently, then you may stay."

Eirwen perked up immediately. With pleased nod she turned and ran for the nearest chair, sitting down and propping up her book on her lap. That settled, Ozma returned to his desk and grabbed the next set of documents to review, all the while trying to keep his mind off his wife's trip the the border.

And oddly enough, Eirwen inadvertently helped with that. As father and daughter sat in silence, he would occasionally look from his papers to glance at her. Eirwen was a picture of serenity; calmly reading as the mid-morning sun streamed through his windows, a tranquil smile gracing her lips. Just watching her made Ozma feel relaxed, and one by one his anxious nerves settled. Though Salem's absence was still present in his mind, he returned to his work with a clearer one.

He and Eirwen remained this way for almost an hour, before the soft creak of his door opening again hit his ears. He didn't look up, assuming that it was Eirwen leaving. However, a few minutes later a tiny, tan hand reached over the edge of his desk and placed a daisy on it.

His gaze darted to the flower. The hand quickly pulled away.

A moment passed. The hand returned, pushing another flower next to the first one.

Eirwen, who still sat her chair, held back a chortle. The hand pulled away just fast as before.

Another moment passed. The hand once again returned and placed a third daisy with the other two. But before the hand could pull away, Ozma grasped it in his own, eliciting a squeak from its owner.

"What's this?" he asked in an awed tone. "Has a flower sprite come to see me today?"

There was a high-pitched giggle, and his youngest daughter popped into view as she peered over the edge of his desk. "No, it's just me. Hi, Daddy!"

"Kore?" He shook his head. "No, certainly not. You are clearly a flower sprite."

Eirwen appeared unable to contain herself a moment longer, as she broke into a fit of giggles of her own.

Kore laughed again. "But I_ am_ Kore! You're being silly."

Ozma chuckled and led Kore around his desk by her hand. The little girl climbed into his lap, hugging her little stuffed dog, Toto, tightly. Once settled, she placed the toy on his desk on top of his papers and patted it on the head.

He picked up one of the flowers and looked down at the little girl. "So, little flower sprite- what brings you to my kingdom this day?"

"All the flowers in the garden bloomed," she replied excitedly. "Toto and I wanted to show you."

"They're very beautiful this year, Father," Eirwen added, now calm. She set down her book and joined her father and sibling. "The gardeners did a good job."

Ozma looked between them. He was beginning to detect his daughters' trademark shenaniganry, and while any other time he would try to indulge...

"I'm sure they did," he agreed. He lifted Kore into his arms and stood. "Girls, as much I love seeing you, I am very busy right now. With your mother gone, my workload has doubled. You can't just-"

The door to the office swung open with flourish, cutting off the pseudo-god's lecture. There stood yet another of his daughters, grinning smugly in her favorite pink dress.

"It's the most beautiful day of the season, and you want to stay in your stuffy study," she said. "Kore was right, Daddy. You _are_ silly."

"Dahlia!" Eirwen shouted. "You were supposed to wait for your cue!"

"I don't even remember what it was," Dahlia admitted, unashamed. "Your plan has too many parts. This is faster."

"Yeah!" Kore cheered, pumping her fist and narrowly avoiding clocking her father in the chin.

"See? Kore agrees."

Eirwen crossed her arms. "You could tell Kore hot chocolate probably comes from brown cows and she would agree with you."

"That makes sense!" Kore gasped. She turned to Ozma. "Did you know that?"

Instead of replying, he set Kore down and crossed his arms, giving his children a critical eye. "Girls, what is this all about? Should I expect Aurelia to come bursting through that door next?"

"No," Kore answered. "She's getting everything ready."

"Ready?"

Dahlia and Eirwen frantically shushed their little sister.

Yes, there were definitely shenanigans afoot. He gave them a reprimanding stare. "_Girls_."

The three girls all shared a glance before looking up at him shyly.

"We have a surprise for you in the garden," Eirwen said. "Please take a break and come see?"

The plea was accentuated with dual puppy-eyes from Dahlia and Kore.

_One of these days that is going to stop working, and then where will they be?_ he thought. Aloud, he sighed and said, "I suppose a break is in order."

His daughters cheered, the elder two immediately grabbing his hands and leading him towards the door. Kore stopped to pick up her toy and followed. They led him down the vast halls of their castle, eventually pulling him through the garden entrance.

The girl were correct- the garden looked breathtaking. Salem's favorite white rose bushes flourished, as did the bellflowers, daisies, lavender, bluebells, and other flowers the family insisted upon growing. In a small area that usually housed a table for meals, said table had been replaced with a large red blanket Ozma knew had been scavenged from his bedroom. Dahlia's twin, Aurelia, currently sat on the blanket arranging platters of food. She was so focused on the task she didn't see her family approach.

"'Lia!" Kore shouted.

Aurelia looked up. She frowned. "You guys! You're not supposed to be here yet! I'm not done setting up the picnic!"

"Dahlia lost her patience," Eirwen explained.

Aurelia grumbled, disgruntled, but smiled widely when she noticed Ozma. Her sisters ran over to her and together they gestured proudly towards the set-up.

"Ta-da!" they shouted.

Ozma stared at them in wonder. "Girls, did you put this together for me?"

Aurelia nodded. "That's right! The cooks made the food, but we asked for your favorites!"

"I got the blanket!" Kore declared proudly.

"I helped Kore when she got trapped under the blanket!" Dahlia added. "It's a really a big blanket, you know."

"I sat in your office to make sure you didn't discover our plan too soon," Eirwen said.

Aurelia started to wring her hands. "Do you like it?"

The girls all shared nervous looks save Kore, who just stared up at Ozma excitedly and bounced in place. He knelt down and gave them his fondest smile.

"I love it," he said, the smile growing when he saw his daughters beam. "It looks like a wonderful picnic. But if you don't mind me asking, what brought this on?"

"You and Mother always work so hard," Eirwen said. Her smile waned a bit. "We know you want to make Remnant a better place, and that takes up a lot of your time, but..."

"You guys are always either in the study or away on this business these days," Dahlia jumped in. "We miss you."

Ozma felt his heart pang painfully. "Oh, dear hearts... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"But we've also noticed how melancholy you've been lately," Eirwen continued. "That's why we did this. We wanted to cheer you up and show you how much we appreciate the work you do."

"You and Mommy make people happy!" Kore declared. She toddled over to Ozma and patted his cheek. "You should be happy too. We can be happy together!"

"Kore's right," Aurelia said. "You have us, you have Mommy, you have this pretty garden... you have so much to be happy about. You don't have to look sad anymore."

Ozma felt his heart pang again, but for a completely different reason. If he and Salem were really 'making people happy,' why were they always putting down an ever-growing number of insurrections? But these girls- these kind, beautiful, _wonderful_ girls- didn't know that. They didn't know the violence their parents wrought. They just saw their sad father, locking himself away as the world weighed on his shoulders. They felt the need to raise his spirits and acted on it.

Brother Gods almighty, what had he ever done to deserve such light in his life?

Ozma scooped Kore into his arms and pressed a kiss to the giggling child's forehead. He then turned to her sisters and gave them an expectant look. "Well? Aren't we going to be happy together?"

They needed no further prompting. His princesses all shrieked in joy as they tackled him in a group hug. They fell into the grass in a heap, laughing uproariously.

_They are why,_ he thought as the girls tried to tickle him._ They are why we need to unite humanity. They deserve nothing less than a perfect world to live in. My daughters, my little seasons- how I love you._

The girls finally gave up and lay across their father's chest, panting. They all stayed that way for a few minutes as they caught their breaths and took in the moment.

"Alright!" Ozma said, sitting up. The girls rolled off him and into the grass. "Why don't we get started on this picnic? You said you asked for my favorites?"

"Chocolate!" Kore cheered, waving Toto in the air. She scrambled towards the blanket.

"There's healthy stuff too," Aurelia assured him.

Ozma was about to thank her when he was interrupted.

"Well, it looks like I arrived just in time."

The group simultaneously looked over their shoulders. There, standing a little ways away from the picnic and smiling softly, was Salem.

"Mommy/Mother!" the girls shouted. They all jumped to their feet and swarmed her. Salem laughed as they hugged her legs and tugged at her dress. She leaned down and rained kisses on each of their faces.

"It's good to see you too, darlings," she said between kisses.

"Mommy, Mommy, isn't the garden pretty?" Kore asked. "And we made you and Daddy a picnic!"

"I saw. Why don't you start serving food while I talk to your father?"

"Yes, Mommy/Mother," the girls chirruped together. They ran to do just that.

Salem glided (she never walked, she always seemed to glide) over to Ozma and helped him stand. She gave him an expression that was part amused, part admonishing.

"That was hardly a dignified position for the god of this world and his heirs to be in," she commented.

"Heirs they may be, but they are also children. I see no harm in letting them play the part," he responded. "Also, welcome back."

Salem smirked and pulled Ozma in for a kiss. Ozma eagerly reciprocated. His lady wife had been gone for several days, after all.

Speaking of which...

Ozma pulled away and fixed his solemn gaze on her. "How did you fare with General Oberon's forces?"

Salem wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder, also resting her free hand on his chest. "He will plague us and humanity no longer, my love. We are one more step closer to our goal."

"... Of course."

Salem had closed her eyes, sinking into her husband's embrace- thus she did not see the uncertain mien his face took. Ozma looked over to his daughters. The younger ones laughed and played tag as the eldest set out plates.

_This is for them,_ Ozma thought. This is for all of humanity. _This is what's necessary if we are finally to be happy._

_... Isn't it?_

* * *

****Centuries La**ter**

"Why us?"

The Hermit looked away from the three sisters in the field below him. They were taking to their new magic like fish to water, but they still needed the practice. (They'd needed to re-tile his roof again after an accident with a fireball.) However, the eldest sat next to him on his little hill, and had been the one to speak.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Fall fiddled with a loose lock of hair. "If you have all this power, why give it to us? I understand you are grateful we helped you, but surely there are people more worthy. Someone wiser or stronger."

The Hermit hummed in thought. He then said, "You, Winter, Spring, and Summer are all truly selfless. That is one of the reasons I believe you are worthy of this power."

"Then what are the other reasons?"

"I... I had daughters, once. Four girls, not unlike you and your sisters. They were bright, brave, and most of all, kind. So kind." He clenched his cane tightly. "They died when they were still small. Even with all my power I couldn't protect them."

"Old man," Fall said worriedly. "You don't have to-"

"But had they lived, I think they would have have been exactly like you," the Hermit continued. "They too would see a sad old man and help him smile again, just because they could. Because they were just. That. _Kind_."

Fall stared at him, speechless.

The Hermit gave her a watery smile. "And they would taken their kindness and changed this broken world for the better. They would have succeeded where I failed."

Fall returned the smile. She reached down and took the Hermit's hand in her own. He grasped it tightly.

"I cannot help this world, not in the way it needs," he said. "Not right now. Maybe you can."

Fall nodded. "We'll do you proud, old man."

"I know you will."

The pair turned their attention back to the field. They watched as Winter, Spring, and Summer marched up the hill, calling for their sister and friend to join them. Fall waved at them, inviting them to join her instead.

The Hermit laughed.

He hadn't done a damn thing to deserve these new lights in his life.

He was glad to have them anyway.


End file.
